General Hardware

Interesting place to shop,

I like this store, its location and personal service. Reminds me of what a local operator should be, rather than the large impersonal home improvement chains.

Extremely rude female cashier. Men working in the rest of the store were helpful but confused. Will not return.

Despite a receipt that clearly states returns are accepted within 90 days, General Hardware refused to take back unused kerosene heaters purchased 30 – 45 days prior.
The staff member we encountered was horribly rude and even verbally aggressive while flatly refusing to make good on the store’s printed (on the receipt, no less!) return parameters.
I’ve never encountered such terrible customer service.

I love this torn up, beaten down little hardware store. Even though it may seem like a train wreck inside, they will probably have anything you need. And the employees are very helpful in getting it to you. Going into a hardware store is always a tricky proposition for me. Because I will most likely leave with a bag full of tools that I have no business buying, I don’t even need, and weren’t what I originally came in for.

If you need a doo-​hickey or a what-​cha-​ma-​call-​it, more than likely you will find it here! This place has been here for a million years and some of the stuff they sell looks like it has been here longer. The minute I walk in they always ask me if they can help me find what I am looking for, and they always do. The staff is extremely knowledgeable, and it is difficult to find this type of expertise at Lowe’s. 50% of the time I get a key made at Lowe’s it does not work, and when I get a key made at general hardware it always works. You know it is a really good hardware store when it has the delicious smell of a time gone by and really nice old guys who can find exactly what you need for just a few dimes.

I laugh every time I come into General Hardware. The sign outside on the street says over 50,000 items. I believe it.
This is a curated collection, The cashier asks you what you’re looking for and then summons a clerk to meet you at a particular isle. Otherwise you would never find anything.
The clerks are all senior citizens. I’m a senior, but the staff at GH makes me feel young. I wonder if GH isn’t really a senior citizen center in disguise because it keeps these guys off the street and busy. Maybe the cashier is really a Dekalb County social worker?
That said, they’ve got merchandise you’ll never find at Home Depot or Lowe’s and the accompanying explanations about how to use or install the item. Just don’t expect service with a smile. These people are serious about hardware.
Tip: GH is closed Sunday.

As mentioned in previous posts, this is as Mom & Pop as it gets, which is my favorite part despite the appearance of disorganization. That really doesn’t pose an issue if you bother to ask, because the staff is more than helpful and knowledgeable about what you need and where it is.
What will keep me coming to this place is the fact that on my first visit after just moving to the area, I needed a bolt cutter to remove a padlock that I had lost the key to. Not needing to own one, I asked if they could rent me it. The owners first response was that they didn’t usually do that, but would be happy to as long as I left a deposit. After returning the cutters and getting my deposit refunded, I asked what I owed. His answer was «nothing». With that simple act alone he has ensured that I’ll use them as much as possible for my hardware needs.
On my second visit which was right as they had turned the lights off, he opened the door and let me in to get the items I needed. Great service and great folks.

This is the epitome of a «mom & pop shop» but unfortunately feels like mom & pop’s forgotten storage shed. There is crap EVERYWHERE. Seriously, you can’t even walk down the center aisle without having to watch your arms and shoulders so you don’t knock over the piles of shit in the middle of the floor! On top of that it was hot and smelled terrible in there. The 6 workers (even though the store was empty) were super helpful but the younger girl working the register was super slow.
Ace really needs to get their act together — I love their stores because I can get in and out fast, but there is no continuity in how they’re run. This is by far the worst Ace I’ve been to, but down Peachtree closer to Windsor Pkwy there is a really nice Ace.

This place is crappy and they have HORRIBLE customer service. I came in to get my car key copied into a new generic key I brought with me. They said they could do it, but the guy copying the key was taking forever and didn’t seem like he knew what he was doing at all. He messed up the first time and then I asked him to redo it and he still messed up because my car door wouldn’t open with it. But the third time he had an attitude and he told me that it could not be cut anymore. I asked him to cut a little in a spot where it was cut awfully and he purposely cut the entire key too skinny and messed it up. His manager was talking to me before I came back and told him that the key was cut wrong. And then when I told his manager that, he walked away without saying anything. So I told him I wanted to new because he missed up the one I brought in. So he tried making a new key and it still didn’t work out, he even wanted me to pay for the new key. So I asked to speak to their manager. When the manager came out it was another guy and he had an attitude and when I told him what happened he said that there was no guarantee, which I was not told. He was being rude, his name was Don, and he talked to Me like I was an idiot. He didn’t even apologize one time. So I asked for the corporate number and he told me you can Google it and find it. So I told him that was the stupidest answer I’ve heard of and he proceeded to waive his hand in front of my face and say goodbye and walk off. So I asked him if that’s how manager acts to customer. Horrible service. I called the corporate as well. Place looks like crap as well. Look at other reviews.

Closed early today! I drove all the way across town (but will not again).
Saw the woman inside and commented to her that it was not yet 6pm when she walked out. Will not come back.
Bad enough that they close at 6pm, but to close early is ridiculous.

I can’t tell you how many times I have been to Lowe’s, they didn’t have what I needed, and General Hardware did (and usually had several options). They have also walked me through repairs multiple times. If aesthetics are important to you this is not the place for you (it can be messy — they have so much stuff crammed in that place).

The above reviews tell the story, I will only add that this place is best appreciated if you brace yourself for the surly service… they
do have most anything one would be searching for that would have motivated them to end up there in the first place. My father took me there as a child, I am 48, they were surly then, they are surly now, but they will likely have what you need and you will return, despite the Soup Nazi attitude, or perhaps at some point because of it.

I love Ace Hardware, but this is no Ace from my experience. I’ve been here in the past and they have tons of stuff for sure (although not well organized). But that’s the beauty of a place like this — usually you can find anything. We arrived at 5:55 and they close at 6:00. I was looking for a washer for my shower head I couldn’t find elsewhere. At Ace, someone (if not 2 – 3) guys greet you at the door. Well, 2 guys were at the door, but rushing to put all the stuff outside the front into the store and they didnt say a word. So I searched for 5 min and then asked some old timer for help. He didn’t say a word for 15 secs and finally mumbled «were closed» under his breath. Then he decided to help me look, but as he walked to the rear he kept looking at his watch saying «were closed.» He looked in one bin which wasnt even close to what I needed and said «were closed, come back tomorrow when Steve (or whoever) is in.» Yes, you have a lot of stuff, but WHERES THE SERVICE. Lock the door if you dont want customers near closing.

You can’t get much further away from the big box hardware stores like Home Depot or Lowes by coming to General Hardware. Seriously. I have somewhat of a soft spot in my heart for mom and pop hardware stores since my father ran an Ace hardware in a small town in Idaho for 40 years. This one by far qualifies as mom and pop (or granny and gramps).
The moment you walk through the front door and see the hodge podge of inventory scattered about, the unkempt aisles and half finished projects here and there, you know you’re not in Kansas anymore (or maybe you are??).
After my second trip in a week to Lowes to get some 2-​cycle engine oil for my blower, and both times having them be out of inventory, I figured my chances were better at this store just down the street. Sure enough, they had what I needed. The prices were a bit higher, I had to search on my own to find where it was and step over crap in the aisles to get what I needed, but at least they had it!
My favorite was all the hand-​written signs about the business, notifying you of their various policies. Here are a couple I remember:
1) On the front door as you walk in: We call the police if you leave your kids or pets in your car!
2) Near the register: No cell phone while in line!
I felt like I was at the soup nazi’s place, carefully minding my business, nonchalantly side-​stepping my way to the register. Pay. Smile. Quick exit.
Thanks, General Hardware. See you again soon. Maybe. And thanks for not calling the po-​po on me for leaving Baxter in the car for 5 minutes while I shopped.

I love the smell of this store as I walk in through the front door. My advisor in graduate school would reminisce about his father’s old-​time hardware store, most notably the smell. Now I understand… that mix of paint and solvent and wood and dust…
As it turns out, a fellow alumnus from that same school had re-​located to Atlanta and was remodeling his circa-1940’s home. He was looking for original window parts. He found them at General Hardware! I had to see what this store was about.
General Hardware is housed in a one-​story, bland-​looking building with maybe 20 parking spaces and a sign that says, «50,000 ITEMS.» Aisles are labeled with a list of general contents. Staff are extremely helpful — always asking if you’re looking for something (given the number of items in the store, yes!), knowing exactly where it is, and assisting you with any questions you may have. In other words, they actually know something about home repair and improvement.
The store is neat, but by no means scrupulously clean or hyper-​organized. Whereas chain stores probably clean up and do inventory every day or week, General Hardware seems to be undergoing a continuous inventory. Guys in red shirts and yellow suspenders sit on stools, carefully sorting different-​sized nails. Somehow, this makes me like the place even more.
The store covers practically all my home and yard needs, as well as things I use for work (I’m an environmental engineer). Forget Home Depot and Lowe’s! If I need something (other than massive quantities of gardening materials), I go to General Hardware. And, anyway, chances are, if General Hardware doesn’t have it, neither will those chain stores.